sine qua non
by Combustspontaneously
Summary: If Train A is traveling at 100 mph and passes by Train P several times over the course of a month and thinks he has beautiful green eyes, what are the chances that she'll fall for him? A) 100% - she's a sucker for beautiful eyes B) None - she's too consumed with work to notice C) It all depends on a clear night, a midnight train, and a few too many drinks. (PS: the answer is C)


Annabeth doesn't know how or when it all started, exactly. Only that it had been a windy day, the kind of afternoon that sent papers fluttering from desks and ripped umbrellas from owners' hands. The clouds whisped around the spires of skyscrapers, like cotton candy spun on iron talons. They trembled, as if they were growing too weak to hold all the rain, pulling towards the earth. Even the air seemed to warn of a storm, thin as mountain air, but thick with apprehension.

It was on this day that she hurried down the street, her heels clicking on the sidewalks, squeezing past joggers running faster than normal and businessmen and women striding past, eyeing the sky with a certain sort of anxiety. It was only a few seconds after she made it to the underground that she heard the distinct _crack _of lightening, accompanied by the rumble of thunder and the sweet rattle of rain as the clouds broke open at last, pouring down onto the city. She sighed in relief, ruffling her fingers through her messy curls as she clattered down the remainder of the steps. Soon the sound of rainfall was replace with the rattle and breathless rush of the trains passing by, and she stepped into her subway home.

It was crowded. A child two feet away stumbled as the subway jerked, only to fall face-first into another women's jacket only inches away. Someone who had been lucky enough to snag a seat earlier stood – his seat immediately reoccupied – and awkwardly pushed and wormed his way towards the subway doors, mumbling apologies. Annabeth averted her eyes as he squeezed, breathlessly, past the disgruntled man next to her. He was so close she could have leaned forward just an inch and brushed her nose along his cheek. He smelled like the ocean.

"Sorry," he breathed. She hummed in response, and he stared out the windows unseeingly, worrying his lip between his teeth. There were breadcrumbs on the collar of his black coat, and beneath it was a black t-shirt of a band she'd never heard of. His hair was messy, sticking up in every which way and his skin was the color of Annabeth's tea, but his eyes… his eyes were the most beautiful green she'd ever seen.

His eyes flickered towards her, and she immediately ducked her head, feeling her cheeks warming. She'd been caught staring – it wasn't the first time perhaps; not on a subway train anyway. She bit her lip, feeling as if perhaps she should apologize – but for what?

Yeah, not gonna happen. The darkness gave way to the bright blur of the subway station, and the train glided to a stop. A second later the doors cracked open, and he was gone, lost in a tide of black coats and dark hair.

Over the next few months she saw him time and time again. Disappearing around a corner. Walking with his face buried in his scarf, the wind whipping his cheeks rosy. Sitting at the window, bobbing his head to music she couldn't hear, lost in a world she couldn't reach. Always within sight, but never within reach.

-x-

It was only when she least expected it that he finally talked to her again. She was coming home from a bachelorette party. In which she was the only actual bachelorette. This of course did wonders for her self-esteem. It was barely past three o'clock when she dragged her wasted body onto the train, collapsing into the seat nearest the door. Glitter coated her skin, her hair wild from dancing the night away. The floor appeared to be slipping away from her, the entire train swaying in a manner reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. She heaved a sigh, pushing back her frizzy blonde hair as she put her head in her hands. She was still very, very drunk. It was only a few seconds later that she realized that she wasn't alone in the compartment. Nor the bench.

Only two seats away was a very alarmed boy with very green eyes. _You, _she startled.

"Oh, my God," she blurted, her eyes wide. "Hi."

His face broke into a wary, gorgeous grin. "Hi," he said carefully. "Are you uh, gonna puke?"

His full lips twitched in amusement as she pondered this question. Oh, how she wanted to kiss those beautiful, beautiful lips. "Probably not," she answered at length. "It's just that I've only just realized the extent of my singleness, that's all."

"Oh," he answered. He was dressed as he normally was, in ripped jeans and a half-tucked in button up. She shook her head. It was unfair for him to be so cute. It was impossible that he didn't already have a girlfriend. How could anybody resist those eyes? It only made her that more pathetic, honestly.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've even been on a date, person? _Do you?" _she demanded of the poor, beautiful stranger with the ripped jeans and pretty eyes.

"I- well, I suppose I don't…"

"_Two years. _That's two years of working on Saturdays and marathonning House on Netflix," she informed him mournfully. He looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Well I hardly find that believable," he argued, grinning. "I mean, there are only like eight seasons at most."

"And there I was thinking you were about to wax lyrical about how I was too pretty to have been dateless for the past two years." She deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

He blushed. "Well, I mean, I definitely never said you _weren't _too pretty for that," he mumbled. Well, to be honest she probably wasn't half-bad in the looks department; in fact, it was honestly time that was the issue. She hadn't even slept with anyone in three years because she was actually too busy. It wasn't easy being under 30 and a CEO of a fortune 500 company.

She smiled wanly. "You think I'm _pretty_, stranger I just met?"

"_Percy _sure does," he answered, looking like he was trying just a little too hard to sound nonchalant. His eyes skimmed shyly over her face. The train jerked as it squealed around a corner and she nearly took a spill to the floor. _Percy _caught her as she tilted, carefully settling her back onto the seat. She blinked furiously, not quite sure of the events that had just transpired – only that his (beautiful, long pianist) fingers were on her elbow, and his other hand was pressed delicately against the small of her back. There was concern in his eyes, so close to hers.

"Woah there - are you okay?" he asked. His breath was warm against her skin. She gulped, forcing a nod, and he drew – regretfully – from her, but settling in an appropriate, but close distance away. "What stop are you?"

She told him, frowning. "Why? You could be a serial killer."

"It's too bad you already told me your stop then." He glanced up at the map. "It's next. Are you okay with me helping you home? You probably shouldn't even be let out when you're this drunk. Did you just get back from a party?"

She scowled. "So what if I did? Where did you just come from? The – the gorgeous people park?" she stuttered defensively.

He barely smothered a grin, an even pink glow burning in his cheeks. "Aw, you think I'm gorgeous," he teased. "It's true. I _did _just get back from the gorgeous people park. Very exclusive. I assume you're always on the list."

She gaped at him. "You're smooth," she accused him. "And also this is my stop." She stumbled to her feet, sauntered to the opening door, and sent a pointed look at him. "_Well?_"

He laughed, shook his head, and got to his feet steadily, placing a warm hand on the small of her back as they exited the train.

"Just to be clear," she said loudly as they emerged from the subway station into the cool night. "I'm just letting you get me home to satisfy your white knight syndrome. I can totally handle myself."

Percy chuckled. "Of course," he said. She frowned, stopping suddenly. He jerked to a stop a little after her. He threw a confused look back, though it only lasted a second until Annabeth judo flipped him onto his back, her elbow at his neck. He stared, dazed, up at her, blonde hair falling around her face. She smirked.

"I can take care of myself," she said again, breathlessly.

"I can see that," he wheezed. "Can you help me up now?"

She smiled, the first pure grin of the night, and clambored up, lending him a helping hand. He rubbed the back of his head, and grinned back down at her, almost as if he couldn't help it. His hair was ruffled, deliciously so, uneven strands sticking up at the back and at the sides. Annabeth reached out a hand to smooth it down, but remembered a second later that she had only really met this person twenty minutes ago. She reached up to adjust her collar instead, blushing furiously. It went far from unnoticed though, and Percy averted his glance, turning back towards the way they were walking.

Annabeth sighed. _Good job, Chase, _she thought dryly before falling into step beside him.

They walked in silence for a few moments, until Percy asked where she lived.

"Not far," she replied softly. "Just around that corner there."

As they turned it, her building came into view, a tall typical Manhattan building. She came to a stop before the gold and scarlet awning, the doorman standing a few yards off. He came to a stop in front of her.

She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. He shuffled his feet. Annabeth bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do – only that she didn't want him to go. Not yet.

"So," they began at the same time. He grinned and she broke off into giggles, tilting her head up into the sky. The alcohol was beginning to wear off, finally. The cold air felt alive around them, like a flowing, burning, sentient creature. There was too much between them. Too much space. She wanted to press her body against his, run her fingers through his soft hair – but they had only met twenty minutes ago. She could hardly believe it. Every time she saw him, spotting his messy black weaving through the crowd, or nodding his head to music she could only imagine – it meant nothing, really. And hey, that kind of hurt. So maybe that's why she said what she did next.

"You know," she said quietly. "The guy who lives next to me is super shady."

He raised an eyebrow, smiling bemusedly. "Yeah?"

"Yep. You know, it wouldn't be very white knight-y of you to let me walk in there alone."

He grinned, shaking his head. "No, I guess it wouldn't."

Annabeth walked towards the front doors, nodding to her doorman. She glanced back, and saw Percy still standing there, staring at her. She rolled her eyes. "What are you waiting for?" He rolled his eyes right back at her, smiling faintly. "What, you got kelp for brains?" she teased.

He knocked into her side, which, due to her current levels of intoxication, sent her veering off course rather dangerously. He caught her easily, but tripped over a corner of a lobby rug, and they fell together, bodies clashing. Annabeth found herself pressed against him – not for the first time that night.

He stared back at her, mirroring her expression. Eyes wide, lips parted, breath uneven. If she leaned over just an inch she could run her nose along his jaw. Another inch and they could be kissing.

"Come up with me," she breathed.

He bit his lip, hesitating. "You're drunk."

"So?" she asked impatiently, wishing she hadn't had a sip to drink earlier that night.

"You can't give consent when you're drunk."

"Then don't sleep with me," she said easily, as if the answer was obvious.

"So you don't want me to come up," he said, knitting his eyebrows.

"Don't be stupid, seaweed brain, of course I do," she scoffed. He drew back a little, confused. "Sleep on my couch. It's too late for you to go back to your place. It wouldn't be very white knight-y of me to let you go all the way back."

He smiled. "No, I guess it wouldn't."

"But in the morning…" she whispered, eyes glinting as she pushed the elevator button. "I won't be drunk anymore."

And Percy, the boy with the most beautiful green eyes, smiled at her and bent down to press his sweet lips against hers.

_A/N: _Lately I've had to urge to write only new stuff… sooooo, here have my first ever Percabeth one-shot! I should be updating Retrouvailles, I know.

I know you all hate me for making you wait, but I'm having serious writer's block. Also I've been playing around with the idea of an Indian Percy, because you know Percy was never explicitly stated as white, and I thought it was really interesting when I saw this all over tumblr.

If you wanna follow me, by the way, my url is frankzhangly (:

Much love!

Anna x.


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